WEATHER

I've spent all of my life on the water, all of it around the Channel Islands. That doesn’t make me a weather expert—anyone who claims that is lying—but it does mean I’ve watched the sky, the wind, and the sea play their games for a very long time. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Television weather reports are mostly entertainment. Words like storm watch are great for keeping you through the commercials. In California, a “storm” might be real… or it might be five knots of wind and enough drizzle to mess up your hair.

The ocean doesn’t care what the forecast said yesterday. A diver books a trip on a sunny day, then shows up when the weather looks questionable. By the same logic, the phone rarely rings when it’s raining—even though the ocean is often just fine. Conditions change constantly. The sea is always moving. A good dive captain may not even tell you the exact dive site until the boat is already headed there, because what matters is what the ocean is doing right now.

Weather is local. The only forecast that counts is the one where you’re standing. If the wind hits the north side of Anacapa, we go to the south side. Simple as that. The islands create shelter in ways the evening news will never explain, and they don’t show up on a weather map.

The weather gods do whatever they want. I can make an educated guess based on experience, patterns, and years on the water—but it’s still a guess. Weather doesn’t aim for a calendar date. I’ve heard plenty of people explain they can only dive on a certain day, as if the ocean is supposed to cooperate. I understand the frustration. The ocean does not.

Rain doesn’t automatically mean bad diving. Some of the calmest days happen during light rain. Ironically, the wind that clears the sky is often the same wind that roughs up the ocean afterward.

So here’s the real advice: be flexible. Dive when the weather is good—don’t wait for perfection. Sometimes you’ll take a chance and be rewarded with an unexpectedly great day. Once in a while it’ll be a little bumpy. That’s part of being at sea.

The ocean gives good days to those willing to show up.

- Captain of the Sea